Chapter Twenty-five: You Have My Heart
The next morning Lina blinked her eyes open to see an enormous spider dangling inches from her face. She watched it carefully, reaching over to the bedside table for her dagger. She promptly slashed at the spider, jumping out of the bed. Half of it still hung there, swinging, and she squinted, finally seeing the string tying the leather spider to the ceiling.
"Kili!" Lina shouted as he came in to join her for breakfast, whistling.
"A fake spider over my bed is not a nice thing to wake up to." She growled.
"I knew you'd like that." Kili said.
"What have you been doing? Don't tell me not to ask." Lina told him.
"Can't a Dwarf buy paint if he wants?" Kili said, crossing his arms.
"Yes, of course, but what's so secret about it?" Lina asked.
Kili clamped his mouth shut. Lina rolled her eyes and they sat quietly for a minute. She started smiling, trying not to, but failing.
"What's so funny?" Kili asked.
"The look on your face when you tripped yesterday." She giggled.
"Hmph." He grumbled, frowning.
She stopped laughing and looked at him apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Kili. But it was a good prank, wasn't it?"
Kili sighed and nodded reluctantly.
'Combination tripwire and bucket of water over the head. Very good prank. I'll have to remember that for the future.'
"Let's gang up on Bofur or your uncle." Lina suggested.
Kili raised an eyebrow.
"Since when did you want to prank Thorin?"
She shrugged.
"I don't know. I just feel in a pranking mood lately."
'Something has changed about her. There's no reservation at all, she does whatever without a second thought now. And her eyes are brighter. I didn't know they could get this bright.'
"Alright. Let's prank Fili." Kili said.
Lina hesitated for a moment, biting her lip.
"Come on, Lina, you know he won't really mind." He coaxed.
She stared at the ceiling.
"If I look at you you'll be making that face and I'll have to say yes." She said.
'She has a point. She never can resist it. But I have another idea.' He thought.
"What if I told you what I needed the paint for?" He said with a smirk.
She looked at him and frowned.
"You'll really tell me the truth?" She asked.
Kili placed his right hand over his heart and nodded.
"Oh, alright then. What are we going to do?"
He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He'd run out of good ideas, so he'd have to use an old one, or Lina could think one up.
"I don't know. You think of one." He said.
A slow, mischievous smile spread across her face.
"We need a few crickets, a needle and thread, and Fili's pillow. I'll get the pillow and you can get the rest. I'll meet you back here."
Lina grabbed a hairpin, hurried to Fili's house and knocked. No answer.
'Perfect! Ha!' She thought.
She picked the lock carefully with the hairpin, the way Nori had taught her, and seized the pillow, hurrying away. Kili was waiting with the needle and thread. He grinned as she waved the pillow triumphantly.
"Now for the crickets!" She said.
They caught a few and Lina put them in a jar, closing the lid tightly. She cut a small hole in the seam of the pillow and put the crickets inside, then sewed it back up, Kili watching with interest.
"Now we put it back in his room." She said. "He'll never be able to kill the crickets, and they'll start singing about the time he goes to bed. It'll be harder to get the pillow back, he might be home now. I'll go first and knock on the door. If he answers, I'll suggest going on a ride or something, and you sneak in after I leave. If he isn't there, we just get in."
Kili nodded and they set off. Kili went up the hall past Fili's door and hid behind a statue. He nodded and Lina knocked. Still no answer.
Lina picked the lock again and they put the pillow back, before leaving quickly. They met Fili coming up the hall.
"There you are! We just went to ask you if you wanted to come on a ride with us." Kili said.
"Sure." Fili said.
They had a splendid ride, and Fili gave in to their pleading for a race. Kili won, and Lina congratulated him.
"Good riding, love."
"Not bad yourself. I'm sure you would have beaten me if he hadn't stumbled." Kili said.
She shook her head.
"No, you were ahead of us before then. I fear Thalion is getting older, and not so swift as he once was." She said, petting his neck.
They rode back quietly, enjoying the cool breeze and fading light. Naki took the ponies and the trio walked back up to the mountain.
"Good night!" Fili said, and Lina smiled as she wished him the same.
When he was gone Lina and Kili looked at each other and laughed.
"Wait until tomorrow! He won't sleep a wink, and his pillow will wish it was never made!"
Kili grinned.
"Now, you promised." Lina said.
Kili smiled and handed her the finished gift.
Lina gasped as Kili handed her a beautiful wooden flute, painted deep green with gold accents. It was smooth and wonderfully made.
'The most beautiful gift I could ever recieve.' She thought.
"I made it on the journey back, and finished it here." Kili said.
"You made it?" Lina asked in awe. "It's beautiful. How did you know I played the flute?"
"I saw you leaving your lessons one day." Kili replied.
She hugged him tightly and he kissed the top of her head.
"Thank you, amralime." She said.
"I love you, Lina." Kili whispered.
Fili looked exhausted as Lina met them in the hall the next day.
"Something wrong?" Lina asked innocently.
"Crickets! In my pillow!" Fili exclaimed. "I was up all night trying to kill the things. I ended up having to cut it open."
Kili snickered, his eyes twinkling.
Lina raised her eyebrows, suppressing a grin.
"Really? I wonder how they got inside your pillow."
"Someone sewed them in. I'm assuming it was Kili, of course." Fili said, glaring at him.
Kili's eyes went all innocent.
"That proves it. You only ever make that face when you've done something wrong or want someone to give you something." Fili said.
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Fili. I put the crickets in the pillow." Lina said with a giggle, and then she and Kili ran away as fast as they could.
The Dwarves of the Blue Mountains insisted on having a party to celebrate the return of the King Under the Mountain and his nephews, and so they had one. It was even merrier than the Durin's Day festivals Lina had attended, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself.
In the evening she played the flute in a duet with Kili. It was a quick, lively melody that went with the Kirborim, a dance Lina didn't know very well. Kili wore a wide grin and a twinkle in his eye and Lina had never seen him happier. Fili clapped in time from the sidelines until a Dwarf lass grabbed his hand and pulled him into the dance. Kili laughed.
"Looks like he gets all the ambitious girls now!" He said, just loud enough for Lina to hear.
Lina struggled not to smile and kept playing, fingers darting about just as madly as Kili's. The song ended a few minutes later and she fanned herself, breathing deeply.
"Well played, Lina." Fili said.
He kissed Lina on the cheek and the girl still holding his arm's eyes widened. She let go and hurried away, face reddening.
Lina giggled.
"I think you fooled her, Fili."
He had an amused smile as he replied,
"Yes, I suppose I did. Sorry about that, Lina."
"Oh, I don't mind." She replied.
Fili saw his brother narrow his eyes slightly at that.
"I'm not trying to steal her, Kili." He said with a laugh.
Lina looked at Kili, who had an odd mix of emotions in his expression. She put a hand on his cheek.
"Even if he was, he wouldn't have any luck. I love you." She whispered.
"I love you, too." He whispered back.
A few weeks later, Lina was sitting all alone in her house, thinking.
'Kili said he'd come over later. I can't imagine life without him now, I love him so. He's been so kind to me, and I love the courtship gifts he's given me. Edencuil, the flute...I hope he likes mine.
I wonder if I should prank him again soon, it's rather fun. Listen to me, plotting pranks just like Loni. I pity all the poor people he randomly pranked on the streets. Speaking of Loni, that one prank he told me about...'
She smiled conspirationally and hurried to Fili's house. He was in this time, and she grinned.
"Want a chance to get back at Kili? I've got a marvelous prank."
Fili's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Alright. What are we going to do to him?" He asked.
"What's something he might be afraid of? Just something small."
Fili burst into laughter.
"Frogs." He choked out.
"Frogs?" Lina asked, blinking.
"He's terrified of them. No idea why."
Lina laughed along with him.
Kili knocked on Lina's door and she opened it with a smile. He kissed her on the cheek and they sat down.
"What have you been doing today?" Lina asked.
"I took Timberwolf out on the track. His feet are going to need trimming soon. What about you?"
She shrugged.
"Nothing much. I worked on a training plan for Edencuil." She said, and reached up to brush a little strand of hair back.
Fili crept forward on the beam in Lina's ceiling until he was directly over Kili's chair, and waited for the signal. Lina brushed her hair back and he dropped the frog into Kili's lap.
His brother leapt out of the chair in a flash, falling over in his haste. The startled frog hopped towards him and Kili scooted backward, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. He then sprang up and vaulted onto the sofa.
Fili held tightly to the beam to keep from falling off as he and Lina roared with laughter. Kili scowled and crossed his arms.
"Not funny." He said.
Fili swung down and scooped the frog back into his pocket, still chuckling.
Lina went over to Kili and kissed him on the corner of his mouth.
"Your face!" She said, erupting into more giggles.
Kili glowered all the more at this and Fili laughed again, too.
"Why frogs, Kili? What is so scary about him?" He said, pulling the frog back out.
Kili took a step back.
"They're unnatural. Look at his eyes!"
Fili and Lina laughed again, until Fili looked at the clock and said he was going to see his mother.
Lina watched him go and turned to Kili.
"Why did you do that?" He asked.
"I don't know. I just felt like pranking you." She replied with a shrug.
"Well, I came to invite you on a hunting trip." He said. "Tomorrow, the day after, and back the next day."
"I'd love to, and I am sorry. I just seemed like a good prank."
"It was, Lina. Just not funny for me." He said, giving her a hug. "I'm glad that some of my pranking genius has rubbed off on you."
Early the next morning Lina went down to the paddocks and caught Edencuil. She had been halter-breaking him over the past month, as well as getting him used to standing tied and wearing a saddle.
She eased the pack saddle onto his back and tightened the girth. She then walked him around, and he behaved perfectly. She strapped her pack and the supplies they would need to the saddle, and walked him around again, proud of his readiness to take the weight. Kili came around the corner, whistling, and saw them.
"Well done, Lina. You've done a wonderful job with him." He said.
Lina smiled and petted the young colt's neck.
"You did a lot of the work." She said.
"Are we taking him along today, then?" Kili asked.
"No, I just thought I'd see how he acted." Lina said as she took off the packs and the saddle.
They caught and saddled Thalion and Timberwolf and set off, stopping at the track for a race. Lina slipped her feet out of the stirrups and pulled them up so her knees rested slightly underneath her, and when they started she crouched over Thalion's neck.
She laughed as they ran neck and neck with Kili and Timberwolf all the way around the track, until, at the very last second, she slipped more rein through her fingers and they won.
"Good race!" Kili called.
"Thank you! You did well yourself. I'll make a race rider out of you yet." She replied.
They continued on their way, and soon came across their favorite campsite, where Lina had found Kili talking to the stars.
"Here alright with you, or do you want to find somewhere else?" Kili asked softly.
"Here is fine, but if you want to keep going I don't mind." She replied, looking at the ground near Thalion's hooves.
"Lina, look at me. When you left, you had a perfectly good reason to. If I had been in your footsteps I would have left, too. It was years ago, and nobody blames you for going. We're all just glad that you are safe and back with us. Now forgive yourself, alright?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. He smiled at her.
"That's my lovely Lina." He said.
You CANNOT kill a cricket in a pillow. I ought to know, my brother sewed six into mine one night. As for Kili's fear of frogs, it's called radinaphobia. It's a real thing, believe it or not.
I imagine the Kirborim music as being the Irish tune 'The Butterfly'. Here's the link to an awesome flute and fiddle duet of it. watch?v=TKkeXBY-emA